April 5, 1889.] 



SCIENCE. 



251 



coal after travelling' only four inches out of the six, the pick is not 

 left there to push the machine and miner backward away from the 

 work in such manner that the successive blows cannot do effective 

 work ; but the moment it has delivered its blow, and without delay, 

 it is withdrawn for the next stroke. 



The flexible electrical conductors lead from the dynamo in the 

 engine-room down the shaft and to the machine. It is claimed 

 that the whole design is such that danger from the current is done 

 away with, and that the machine, wires, generator, and every part, 

 are free from danger either to life or property. 



A UNIQUE ELECTRIC POWER STATION. 



The great advantages one method of conversion of energy 

 possesses over another when favored by circumstances is illustrated 



eventually prove to be of great economic value. The culm at 

 Scranton is now a marketable product of the mines. 



An interior view of the electric power station spoken of is given 

 in the illustration on this page. The electric current is furnished 

 by three Edison dynamos, of 80,000 watts capacity each, wound 

 for an electric pressure of 500 volts at a maximum. The station 

 is most complete in all its appointments, and is furnished with 

 electric lights, current being taken from the dynamos used to 

 supply the motive power for the road. 



The twenty cars with which the road is equipped are of the 

 Sprague system, and ran uninterruptedly during the severe snow- 

 storms which have visited Scranton since the road was opened. 

 The Sprague Company and the people of Scranton, as well as 

 the officers of the road, have reason for the satisfaction they ex- 

 press over the working of the road. The extraordinary economy 



THE ELECTRIC POWER STATION, SCRANTON, PENN. 



in a striking manner at the power station of the People's Electric 

 Railway of Scranton, Penn. At a short distance from this station 

 is an almost inexhaustible supply of "culm," — the screenings of 

 anthracite coal, which until recently was considered practically 

 valueless. This culm, which costs little more than the expense of 

 carting it to the station, is the fuel used in generating steam for 

 the engine which drives the dynamos, the boiler-furnaces being 

 specially adapted to the economical consumption of such fuel. As 

 a consequence of this cheapness of fuel, it is claimed by the officers 

 of the road,' it costs less to supply the electric motive power neces- 

 sary to operate the railway than it would to furnish one horse with 

 food and attendance. When it is known that there are twenty 

 cars in operation on this line, and that the grades are not few in 

 number, some of them being steep, the enormous advantages 

 given to the electric system by such exceptional favoring circum- 

 stances are apparent at a glance. The results of two months' ex- 

 perience on the Scranton road makes prominent not only the fact 

 that the electric railway is a good thing in its way, but also the 

 further fact that many things now looked upon as useless will 



in working expenses, if nothing else, makes this a notable electric 

 railway. 



A COTTON FABRIC. 

 A COTTON fabric which has been patented in England is thus 

 described by the Canadian Journal of Fabrics : " It has the ap- 

 pearance and soft feel of chamois leather, and, it is guaranteed, 

 will not lose its special qualities when washed. In making the 

 cloth, cotton yarns form the warps, these being dyed a fast color, 

 a chrome yellow tint being preferable. They are sized and dressed 

 in the usual manner. The weft is spun soft, and is used in the 

 undyed state. The fabric is woven from these yarns, and is then 

 passed several times through cylinder teasing or raising machines, 

 whereby the surface is broken and a good ground nap is produced 

 on one side or both sides thereof. The fabric is then ' soap ' 

 finished, to impart to it the desired appearance and soft, cold feel 

 of chamois-leather. It is applicable for either wet or dry cleaning 

 purposes and also as a polishing cloth, and especially suitable for 

 underclothing and for linings of the same, and for general use as a 



